1864 Indian Cent, Judd-353, Pollock-425, MS 63 PCGS. Indian cen...

Description

Scarce Aluminum-Bronze 1864 Indian Cent Pattern

1864 Indian Cent, Judd-353, Pollock-425, MS 63 PCGS. Indian cent
pattern struck from the regular dies without the L initial on the
bust of the Indian. Struck in an aluminum-bronze alloy with a plain
edge. There are three different alloys these pieces were struck in,
and they apparently are indistinguishable without elemental
analysis. The 5-10% aluminum alloy gives the coin a brass-like
appearance. It also apparently hardened the planchet sufficiently
that the finished coin shows several areas of weakness, notably on
the tips of the feathers of the headdress and the bottom of the
truncation of the bust of the Indian. Of variable rarity according
to the exact composition, these pieces range from R.5 to R.6 to
R.8. (PCGS# 60353)